Golden gets new Conservation Officer

As bears are settling into their dens for the winter, Golden has a new Conservation Officer to help with wildlife conflicts. Dan Bartol will work alongside existing CO Alex Desjardins to serve both Golden and Revelstoke, although both of them will be based here.

The change was done as a safety measure for the officers, who will be better able to handle incidents as a pair rather than by themselves.

Bartol has extensive experience in the field, spending time working for provincial parks in Ontario and national parks across the west, including Waterton Lakes and Pacific Rim.

According to Bartol, one concern that many local hunters have these days is a changing wildlife population.

“Populations are always changing and that’s a cyclical thing…meeting hunters, a lot of them are complaining about the dynamics of the population,” Bartol said. “I understand that this was an exceptional hunting area at one time…and maybe the population isn’t what it used to be.”

Bartol was eager to apply for a job in Golden when he saw it had opened up, and has spent a good bit of time in the area doing some of the things that he loves, including skiing and climbing.

“When the inspector called and offered me the job I was on a personal watercraft patroller and I almost dropped the phone in the water when he said Golden, I really couldn’t believe my ears,” he said.